U.s. Gets Nowhere Fast Against Saudis

Exhibition Match Ends In 0-0 Tie

May 26, 1994|By Phil Hersh, Tribune Staff Writer.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Their coach, Bora Milutinovic, continues to insist the only results that count are the ones in the World Cup, which remains nearly a month away. Milutinovic treats results like Wednesday's 0-0 tie with Saudi Arabia for what they are: exhibitions.

Yet his players wonder how they can hope to match up against the world's leading soccer powers if they can't exhibit enough talent to beat the Saudis, whom oddsmakers have called the weakest member of the 24-team World Cup field.

"We couldn't get a win, which we need right now," midfielder Tab Ramos said. "I'm hoping we can get a lot better than this. We don't have Saudi Arabia in our group."

The United States will play in a first-round group with none of the World Cup lightweights: Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Morocco, Greece and the U.S. itself.

"We need to be at a top level to have any possibility at all in the World Cup," Ramos said.

Ramos, just back from the Spanish league, is the latest foreign-based player to rejoin the national team's 25-player pool, from which the 22-man World Cup roster will be selected. Only midfielder John Harkes, whose English league team is playing for promotion, has yet to return.

Even so, Milutinovic still is tinkering with the team's lineup and strategies, creating uncertainty that frustrates many of the players.

Three of the top foreign legionnaires, Ramos, Eric Wynalda and Ernie Stewart, did not enter Wednesday's match until halftime. Another returnee, Roy Wegerle, played the final 18 minutes, his first game action since a Jan. 8 knee injury that required three surgeries.

Ramos' presence immediately energized a dormant U.S. attack that did everything but score for the 27 minutes of play until the match was suspended for 23 minutes by threats of an electrical storm.

"Tab is a brilliant player," defender Alexi Lalas said, explaining Ramos' effect on the team. "He wants the ball, he comes back (defensively) to get it, he controls it when he has it, then he turns and lays the ball off. He makes a big difference."

But not enough to prevent Team USA (4-6-7) from being shut out for the third time this season, before a sellout crowd of 5,576 at Rutgers University. Frankie Klopas of Chicago, who played the first half at center forward, failed to score for the first time in three games.

The United States outshot the Saudis 15-8 but needed a diving save by goalie Tony Meola in the 88th minute to preserve the tie.

"I don't know if we were lucky not to lose or unlucky not to win," Milutinovic said.

The United States clearly was lucky to get through a scoreless first half, during which the Saudis controlled the ball in midfield and their forwards conistently burst past Lalas and fellow defenders Brian Bliss and Marcelo Balboa. Only the Saudis' poor finishing ability-and a goal called back for offsides-kept them from taking the lead.

"We're in a situation where we think, `If they score on us, we're in big trouble,' " Ramos said. "That's why we need to score first."

Tom Dooley had an easy chance to do that for the United States in the first half, when he shot wide of an open side of the net with a misheaded ball off a Hugo Perez crossing pass. Lalas could not convert three good header opportunities in the second half, and Stewart had a shot bounce off the left post.

"Certainly, we think we should have beaten this team," assistant coach Steve Sampson said. "A win would be a tremendous confidence booster for us."

It would seem the team could benefit by using its likely World Cup lineup in the final two tuneup matches, the second of which is June 3 against Mexico. Milutinovic apparently is in no hurry.

"Those of us who haven't coached in two World Cups (as Milutinovic has) would say, `Today we must win,' " Sampson said. "Bora has the big picture in mind."